Last blood donation clinic in northwestern Ontario closes in Kenora

Blood donors in Kenora, Ont.will now have to go to Winnipeg if they want to donate blood and help the Canadian Blood Services.

The finalclinicinKenorawas held last week, said Tracy Smith, the associatedirector of donor relations for Canadian Blood Services.

"It wasaMonday and Tuesday, so December 11and 12, we had a good turn out from donors [and] we were there to thank the donors for their support and I was there personally to answer any questions or concerns they had," Smith said.

During the closing ceremony, Smith said many donors were upset that blood donation clinics will no longer be held inthe city since "they only make it to Winnipeg once or twice a year."

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Kenorawas the last municipality in northwestern Ontario whereblood collection clinics were still be held, said Smith.

Canadian Blood Services stopped holding clinics in Fort Frances, Ont.in October2014 and in Dryden, Ont. in May of 2015. It hasn't held mobile clinics in Thunder Bay since 2012.

This past year, four two-day blood collection clinics were held in Kenora, said Smith.

Decision based on cost, travel distance

However, the cost of travelling to collectblood in Kenora, and then transferring it to the nearest testing and production site, contributed to the decision to stop holding clinics in the northwestern Ontario city, she said.

"Our collections plan is based on a really thorough analysis, so we look at the location of our permanent collection [and] our testing and production sites, which is located in Winnipeg," Smith said.

She added that the challengeof having to get different licenses for nurses "to travel and work in another province" has also been a factor in the decision to "discontinue the blood collections in the city of Kenora."

And although Kenora residentswill have to travel to Winnipeg to donate blood, Smith said the Kenora closure will not "affect [Canadian Blood Services'] ability to continue to provide a safe, secure blood supply for all Canadians."

She also said even thoughthey will no longer be visitingKenora to collect blood donations,there area number of ways on the Canadian Blood Services website that shows donors can still give back and help.